


denouement

by amsves



Series: Master and Man (and Other Stories) [20]
Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Arguing, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Dialogue Heavy, Gen, Other, Press and Tabloids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-26 12:17:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17745779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amsves/pseuds/amsves
Summary: The Titans get in a fight, but it's not the kind they can punch their way out of.[Bad Things Happen Bingo]





	denouement

**Author's Note:**

> Anon asked for 'accidentally hurt by friend' for my Teen Titans series. Here it is! Although, full disclosure, I went with an emotional hurt, rather than, say, a punch to the face. There's been plenty of physical violence in this series, so I figured this would be a good chance to inject some classic emotional angst instead. 
> 
> Takes place as a sort of epilogue to the series.

Cyborg threw the latest edition of the _Daily Jump_ onto the coffee table. Bold black letters screamed _Titans Terrorize Again!_ above a grainy shot of Robin and a stock-standard criminal. The photo’s poor quality, however, couldn’t hide the reality that the criminal was getting the shit kicked out of him, way past the point of necessity. Cyborg really didn’t need to read the article to know that it was yet another piece in a continuing series of speculative editorials about Robin’s supposed ‘fall from grace’.

He rubbed his eyes. This was getting to be a problem. He scanned the article anyways, just in case the writer had anything new to say.

The author did. _The Titans have always exhibited issues with restraint and control, though that is to be expected and allowed, filed under youthful ignorance and inexperience. What troubles the mind nowadays is that Robin, the protector of Jump City and generally more humane counterpart to the great Batman himself, seems to be going down the same route of his mentor: that is, to say, a dark and violent path. This almost seems to be a reimagining of our beloved hero, a revamped version of our guardian, played by a new and more troubled soul._

“They’re not buying it,” he muttered, replacing the newspaper. “This is bad.”

“What’s bad?” Raven intoned, cracking one eye open. She stood up from her seat on the couch and made her way over to Cyborg. She picked up the paper and groaned. “Of course. We should have known.”

“We were better off when they were still wondering where he was.” Cyborg sighed, letting his head fall into his hands. “What are we gonna do, Rae? We gotta do something, but …”

“I’m calling a team meeting,” the half-demon decided. “I’ll tell the rest of them now. Tonight, at five. Sound good?”

“As good as it can, I guess, considering the circumstances.”

“What’s this about a team meeting?” Robin poked his head into the main room. He strolled over to the kitchen area and started to make himself a sandwich. “How come I didn’t hear about this?”

“We just decided,” Raven explained, settling back onto the couch. “It’s tonight, at five. Please be there.”

“Aw, man. Actually, I was planning to be out patrolling then. Mix up our routine a bit, y’know? Catch the bad guys off guard.”

Cyborg could feel the annoyance rolling off Raven in waves. “Robin, _please_ ,” she insisted. “Make the effort to be there.”

“What’s this about, anyways?” Sandwich completed, he opened the fridge to return the strawberry jelly to its prior location. “Can’t you just tell me now?”

“You know what?” Raven stood up. “Fine. Cyborg, please call Starfire and Beast Boy. We’re having the meeting now.” He nodded and got to work paging their communicators. Raven glared in Robin’s direction. “Happy?”

Robin held up his hands placatingly. “Hey, what’s with all the hate? I was just saying--”

Starfire floated into the room, yawning. “What is the occasion, dear Raven?” She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. “Cyborg said it was of utmost importance.”

“Yeah, but is it really so important that it couldn’t wait like _five minutes_ ?” Beast Boy whined. “I mean, I was _this close_ to beating the final level of _Attack of the Zombie Murder Pigeons_ \--”

“Our plan isn’t working,” Raven interrupted, and the room suddenly felt much colder. “The people are starting to catch onto the fact that Robin isn’t the original Robin they know and love. Just listen to this.” She grabbed the newspaper that had started it all and started to read. “ _This almost seems to be a reimagining of our beloved hero, a revamped version of our guardian, played by a new and more troubled soul._ ”

Raven looked up and studied the faces of her teammates. “Sure, this is just one guy who said this, but this was published in the biggest newspaper in Jump. How many thousands of people read this? How many think his point is legitimate?”

She swiveled to face Robin. “You need to calm down. Take a deep breath, and _get your act together_.”

“Sorry to break it to you,” Robin retorted, voice noticeably louder, “But I’m a trained detective and a trained vigilante fighter. Nowhere in my job description does it say I’m an _actor_. That’s not what I’m here to be.”

“No, what you’re here to be is a part of our team,” Raven returned, a slight tremor in her level voice. “You’re here to be the fifth member of the Teen Titans, not to go off and do whatever you feel like.”

“Already messed that one up,” Beast Boy grumbled.

That was the last straw. Robin grabbed the collar of Beast Boy’s shirt and yanked him in close. “ _What did you say_?” he hissed.

“Robin, let him go!” Starfire yelled, and Robin released the fabric of Beast Boy’s shirt with a huff.

“I _said,_ ” continued Beast Boy, scooting away from Robin, “that you’ve already been going off and doing whatever you feel like. Like, you know, when you ran off to Slade’s place by yourself and got beaten.”

“I came here with a mission from Batman--” Robin started, before he was interrupted again.

“Yeah, that mission was to neutralize the other Robin and keep the people in this city from noticing anything! But you just charged in there solo and ruined the best chance we had to take them down, and now all we can do is damage control.” Beast Boy crossed his arms. “Say what you like, but you really messed up on this one, bro.”

“Oh, like the first Robin was a saint?” Robin spread his arms out wide. “He’s the one who started this whole mess! None of this would be happening if he hadn’t messed up!”

“Off topic,” Raven said dismissively. “No one’s claiming that the first Robin was perfect. We’re saying that _people aren’t buying our plan_. Do you know how catastrophic it would be for the city if the truth got out? First of all, the citizens would lose all trust in us, but this goes beyond that. We would essentially lose the right and ability to be heroes in this city, and it would turn into the same crime-filled cesspool that Gotham is. That’s the worst-case scenario, but it’s also the most likely.”

“Please, Robin,” Starfire said softly, “Just try a little harder.”

“I don’t think you guys get it!” Robin shouted, bringing a fist down on the counter hard enough to rattle his plate. “I’m not just some Robin 2.0! I’ve worked hard my entire life to be who I am, and who I am is NOT another Dick Grayson!”

Four pairs of eyes stared back at Robin, shocked.

“Was that his name?” Starfire asked, trembling slightly. “The former Robin … his name was Dick Grayson?”

“You didn’t know?” Robin glanced around at the members of the Titans. “He seriously never told you his name, the whole time you guys worked together?”

“I guess he didn’t trust us,” Cyborg muttered. “He knows our names, though. That was probably dumb of us to tell him, huh?”

“Dumb of us to _trust_ him,” Raven added, eyes downcast.

“I bet Slade knows his real name,” Beast Boy said bitterly, and the other four glared at him. “What? It’s probably true. There’s no way that hasn’t come up yet.”

“Slade has technology that allows him to take control of the other Robin’s body,” Robin added, “So I’d say it’s pretty much a given.” He exhaled. “I’m sorry, guys. I’ll try harder to fool the general populace. I’ll try and keep myself in check. I can’t promise I’ll be any good at it, but …” he trailed off, eyeing them hopefully. “I promise I’ll give it my best effort?”

Raven nodded, a small smile gracing her lips. “Thank you, Robin. I’m sorry for … what we said.”

Robin smiled back hesitantly. “Well, if we’re done here, I think I’m going to go patrol around the neighborhood real quick. Just to double-check that nothing exploded while we were having our heart-to-heart.”

“Sounds good, man,” Cyborg agreed.

“Would it be alright if I perhaps accompanied you?” Starfire asked timidly, and Robin stood up a little straighter.

“Yeah, that would be good. I just need a minute to get ready” He walked towards the door, but before he vanished out of sight, he turned back to the rest of the team. “Hey, guys?”

“Hmm?”

“...my name’s Jason.”

* * *

"The Titans are trying to replace you."

"I know."

"They brought in that boy from Jump to pretend to be you, to take credit for the hard work you did for years and to tarnish your name with his foolish actions."

"I know."

"But that doesn't matter, does it? You're in a better place now--the best place for you, in fact, where you can use your skills to their fullest, serving a master who cares about you and wants you to reach your full potential."

"Yes, Slade. You're right."

Renegade didn't have to look at Slade's face to know the older man was smiling. He closed his eyes, and waited for the kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr[ here](http://www.skeletoncloset.tumblr.com)! P.S.--there's still one bingo square left at the time of posting! Who will be the first to claim 'Common Cold'--and for what fandom/pairing? *eye emoji*


End file.
